Larry Landis was an archivist at Oregon State University from 1991-2020, serving as head of the University Archives from 1996-2011 and as director of the Special Collections and Archives Research Center from 2011-2020. In this, the first of two interviews, Landis focuses on his upbringing in Indiana, his educational experiences in Texas, his first archival jobs, his move to Oregon State University and the history of the University Archives through the end of the 1990s. He was interviewed by Chris Petersen for the Oregon State University Libraries and Press Oral History Collection (OH 041), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.